Gianluigi Piludu 23/11/2017
Led by director and screenwriter Mark C. Smith, a Portland, OR-based filmmaking group has created a jaw-dropping stop-motion short about love in heaven. "Two Balloons" this is the title of the animated short film, it tells the story of two travelers who return to a place crossed by stars and clouds where love is at the center of everything.
The project, which was not originally intended as a stop-motion project, took four years to complete and had many unexpected events in its development. Smith explains: "I was first inspired on a sailing trip to Grenada when we approached a funnel-shaped cloud. It was daunting and fascinating to watch and gave me the idea of" Two balloons "Two ballons to be precise." Initially we would have liked the film to take place in live action, but since the hangar we needed for the 1: 1 scale airship was not available, we decided to change strategy . The Stop Motion technique as a form of animation has always fascinated me. I felt it would support the story and it would be a good challenge. "
For this reason Bernard and Elba the main characters have been changed from human persons to lemurs. The animation team was made up of veterans of stop motion technique and young experts in animation technique, who worked together to tackle common challenges. "On the set, there was a positive synergy between the enthusiasm of the beginners and the wisdom of the veterans. The beginners saw no limits and thought that anything was possible. The experienced crew members made the impossible possible in more than an opportunity, "says Smith.
The team spent 16 months storyboarding, creating sets, and securing everything within a warehouse space, then began shooting. "We shot on two stages - as one shot was being animated on one stage, we would set the next shot to the second. Our list of shots consisted of 3 × 5 inch cards that were attached to an 8 × 12 foot wall that we called the Big Board, it was the production scheme.
"If I have to give advice to new filmmakers, I can't stress enough how important storyboards are. Highly detailed cards take a long time to create, but it saves a lot of time when the production counter is running. The Stop- technique. motion does not offer the possibility of getting extra coverage because a shot can last up to two weeks. It is important to plan it correctly in advance so that you know if you are getting the shots and sequences you want. We designed the storyboard for eight months and then edited the animation for another two months. Our edit was almost frozen before we shot the first frame, "continues Smith.
"Adam C. Sager, our VFX post and special effects supervisor, often visited the set before shooting the frame. His presence safeguarded our production process. Essentially we had three departments working simultaneously: animation, art department and station, "concludes Smith.
Along with the planning for the animation, it was also important that the team plan the overall look of the film in advance. Art director Kathleen Chamberlin explains: "Mark and I sifted through mountains of reference photos, books and paintings for hundreds of hours to define the style of the film. We wanted the film to be as analog as possible. To be ready for evaluation. , I designed a hero frame for each shot to exemplify the look, feel, and vision of the movie. From these early frame heroes, I created LUTS with DaVinci Resolve Studio video editing software to use as a solid foundation. "
"The LUTS gave us a great starting point for the style Kathleen envisioned for the film," added Colorist John Davidson. "They helped bring the clips into range faster and provided guidance as I worked on perfecting the shots."
Davidson then used DaVinci Resolve Studio for the film's final grade. "The classification of a stop motion film takes a slightly different approach than a live action film, because each frame is captured as an individual, meaning that there may be times when changes of a frame are needed," he says. Davidson.
Chamberlin adds: "In stop-motion, it's possible that elements of a set need to be shot separately for animators to access. After the set is put back together, subtle changes in color and value are unavoidable. That means. visual continuity while stop motion evaluation is a task that often requires extra attention. "
"Two Balloons" is about two travelers who return to a place crossed by stars and clouds where love is the beginning of everything. It recently premiered at the 30th Foyle Film Festival in Ireland and will continue its festival in the fall. For more information, visit www.twoballoons.film.
Watch the Two Baloons video trailer
